The inaugural lectures of the new professors

As they take up their new role, each professor at the University of Helsinki holds a public inaugural lecture. Inaugural lectures are held twice a year close to the end of each term, usually in May and December.
Upcoming lectures | 27 May 2026

The next inaugural lectures of new professors will be held on Wednesday, 27 May 2026 in the University’s Main Building. The lectures serve as popular introductions to the professors’ disciplines and current research topics. The lecture programme and lecturers will be announced on this webpage closer to the date. 

Additional event information: .

Professors who gave their inaugural lectures in 2024-2025
December 2025

Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry
, professor of Nutrition (Molecular Nutrition) | , professor of Forest Genomics and Breeding | , professor of Legume Science 

Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry / Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
, professor of Animal Welfare

Faculty of Arts
, professor of Digital Humanities | , professor of Russian Security Policy: Venäjän turvallisuuspolitiikan tutkimusta sodan varjossa

Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences
 , professor of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology

Faculty of Law
, professor of Procedural Law | , professor of Public Law

Faculty of Medicine
, professor of Behavioural Brain Research | , professor of Internal Medicine | , professor of Hand Surgery

Faculty of Science
, professor of Conservation Geography | , professor of Mathematics (Mathematics Teacher Education) | , professor of Aerosol Physics (Aerosol Technology and Measurement Technology) | , professor of Chemistry (Interaction of Light and Matter) | , professor of Statistics | , professor of Physics | , professor of Mathematical Physics | , professor of Gravitational Wave Cosmology

Faculty of Social Sciences
, professor of Political Science (Political and Organisational Studies)

Faculty of Theology
, professor of Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine / Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry 
, professor i Ruminant Health

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine / Faculty of Medicine
, professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases

May 2025

Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry:
, professor of Environmental Economics | , professor of Sustainability Science (Sustainable Food Systems) 

Faculty of Arts:
, professor of Finnish Language | , professor of Islamic Studies | , professor of English Language and Digital Humanities | , professor of Finnish Language | , professor of Quantitative and Comparative Linguistics

Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences:
, professor of Socio-ecological Systems | , professor of Integrative Neurobiology | , professor of Evolutionary Ecology | , professor of Statistics | , professor of Integrative Physiology

Faculty of Medicine:
, professor of Molecular Pathology | , professor of Neurology | , professor of Cancer Molecular Biology | , professor of Translational Medicine | , professor of Pediatric Cardiology | , professor of Neuropsyhcology 

Faculty of Educational Sciences:
, professor of Learning in Humans and Machines

Faculty of Pharmacy:
, professor of Pharmaceutical Bioinformatics

Faculty of Science:
, Professor of Mathematics (Swedish-language professorship) | , professor of Environmental Geochemistry | , professor of Life Science Informatics | , professor of Experimental Materials Physics 

Faculty of Social Sciences:
, professor of Criminology | , professor of Political History

Swedish School of Social Science:
, professor of Media and Communications

December 2024

Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry:
, Professor of Food Sciences | , Professor of Sustainability Science (Behavioural Change toward Sustainability Transformations) 

Faculty of Science:
, Professor of Cryosphere-atmosphere interactions | , Professor of Biogeochemical Cycles | , Professor of Computer Science (distributed systems and networking with emphasis on Internet of Things) | , Professor of Physical Chemistry 

Faculty of Arts:
, Professor of Italian Language | , Professor of Audiovisual Culture | , Professor of Scandinavian Languages | , Professor of Ethnology | , Professor of Ibero-Romance languages | , Professor of Digital Humanities | , Professor of Art Studies 

Faculty of Social Sciences:
, professor of Social Work | , professor of Sociotechnical Change of Consumer Society |
, professor of Disability Studies | , professor of Practical Philosophy | , professor of Global Development Studies | , professor of Sociology | , professor of Communication

Faculty of Educational Sciences:
, professor of Language Didactics |, professor of Sociology of Education

Faculty of Medicine:
, professor of Pharmacology

Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences:
, professor of Neurobiology

Faculty of Law:
, professor of Civil and Commercial Law

May 2024

Faculty of Arts:
, Professor of Germanic Philology | , Professor of Finnish and Nordic History | , Professor of Latin language | , Professor of Classical Philology | , Professor of Indigenous Studies

Faculty of Educational Sciences:
, Professor of Craft Science and Craft Pedagogy

Faculty of Medicine:
, Professor of Clinical psychology, mental health, and mental health interventions | , Professor of Dermatology and Allergology | , Professor of Biochemistry | , Professor of Development of Healthcare Services 

Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry:
, Professor of Molecular and Translational Plant Biology | , Professor of Global Forests and Land Use 

Faculty of Science:
, Professor of Regional and Urban Inequalities | , Professor of Earthquake Seismology | , Professor of Data Science (Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence) | , Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and Physics | , Professor of Computer Science (Software Development Methods) | , Professor of Data Science (Knowledge Discovery in Big Data) | , Professor of Computer Science (Spatiotemporal Data Analysis for Sustainability Science)

Faculty of Law:
, Professor of Law | , Professor of Criminal and Procedural Law

Faculty of Social Sciences:
, Professor of Social Policy | , Professor of European Societies and Politics | , Professor of Social Work| , Professor of Philosophy of Social Science and Sustainability

Dress code

New professors
New professors giving their inaugural lectures wear a black suit, or tailcoat with a bow tie and black waistcoat. Pocket handkerchief is not used with a black waistcoat. Clerics may wear clerical attire, and those who have completed their doctoral degree at a foreign university may use the gown of that institution. The new professors carry with them their doctoral hats if they have graduated from a Finnish university, and they have a doctoral hat. 

Audience
The dress code for the audience is casual. In the evening session, the dress code is festive attire.